


Let him be soft

by AnaGP



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Protective Rhodey, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 17:56:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11190321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaGP/pseuds/AnaGP
Summary: “I can’t do this anymore, Rhodey.”“You don’t have to, Tones.”“I’m not strong enough.”“You are, always have been and always will be strong enough.” Rhodey kisses his temple, his cheek, his lips. “But you don’t have to do this.”“I can’t…I don’t…”“Shush, now,” Rhodes gathers the engineer in his arms, “Believe in me, then, because I believe in you.” Tony burrows his face in the colonel’s chest. “If nothing else, believe in how much I love you.”





	Let him be soft

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Its_Just_Chemistry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Its_Just_Chemistry/gifts).



> Gifted to Its_Just_Chemistry because she is my conductor of light, my beacon of light in the shadows, the Watson to my Holmes, the kindest, most precious person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and, of course, dearest and nearest to my heart (or, like the Greeks would say, 'philtatos'.) 
> 
> The words in italics do not belong to me, they are from a poem you can find here: http://pencap.tumblr.com/post/152685439505/please-let-him-be-soft-i-know-you-made-him

_Please, let him be soft._

Tony comes back from hell with guns blazing and a fake smile plastered on his face. He smiles at Rhodes and pats his shoulder and suddenly they are awkward teenagers again, trying to regain their footing after a long sleepless night and far too many cups of coffee.

_I know you made him_

_with gunmetal bones_

_and wolf’s teeth_

Music blares from the speakers in the workshop and Rhodey suppresses the need to check up on Tony every 10 minutes. He knows the engineer is trying to piece together the shattered pieces of his life and all he can do is wrap his arms around him when the night’s terrors threaten to consume him.

_I know you made him to be_

_a warrior_

_a soldier_

_a hero._

“The truth is…I am Iron-Man.”

Rhodes holds Tony’s hand through the storm that follows that declaration. The engineer gives him a smile full of pain and Rhodes can see the next 20,30 years of their lives- he can see Tony bending over backward to fix everything that can’t be fixed and all that can. The star in the engineer’s chest glows brightly and they both learn to sleep with its ethereal glow.

_But even gunmetal can warp_

_and even wolf’s teeth can dull_

“I know guys with none of that worth ten of you.”

Tony comes home clutching at his chest, with blood seeping through his fingers and a deep fear of wormholes that does nothing but aggravate his still-healing wounds. Monsters stir in the engineer’s unconsciousness and Rhodey finds himself wondering if the blisters in Tony’s hands will ever truly heal.

_And I do not want to see him break_

_the way old and worn and_

_overused things do._

 “I can’t do this anymore, Rhodey.”

“You don’t have to, Tones.”

“I’m not strong enough.”

“You are, always have been and always will be strong enough.” Rhodey kisses his temple, his cheek, his lips. “But you don’t have to do this.”

“I can’t…I don’t…”

“Shush, now,” Rhodes gathers the engineer in his arms, “Believe in me, then, because I believe in you.” Tony burrows his face in the colonel’s chest. “If nothing else, believe in how much I love you.”

_I do not want to see him go up in flames_

_the way all heroes end up martyrs._

“You were never a team player, Stark. Don’t pretend to care about anyone other than yourself.”

“That is enough, Captain.” Fury’s voice is tense and it’s the very first time he has stepped up in Tony’s defense. “The debrief is over.”

That night, Tony builds three new suits and disappears in a whirlwind of red and gold by the break of dawn.

_I know that you will tell me_

_that the world needs his heart_

Rhodes opens the door to Fury’s office and steps inside.

“I want Rogers away from Tony.”

“Colonel-”

“No. You either put Rogers somewhere else or Iron Man and War Machine are off the team.”

“We need Iron-Man.”

_and his faith_

“The world needs him.”

_and his courage_

“Fury.”

“We need him.”

_and his strength_

_and his bones and his teeth and his blood and his voice and his-_

“I will not have another Howard in Tony’s life. I will not.”

“I will speak with Rogers.”

“See that you do. Else, we are off the team.”

_The world needs anything he will give them._

“I ran the numbers and made the call.” Tony’s voice is rough, his throat dry.

“Tony…” Rhodey rubs circles on the engineer’s palm.

“I saved them…that’s all that matters.”

The surgery lasts four hours and Rhodes gives precious blood to restore life in the engineer’s body.

_Damn the world,_

_and damn you too._

Tony shuffles into the room, his body bruised and battered. He collapses on top of the sheets and Rhodes undresses him and tucks him in.

_Damn anyone that ever asked anything of him_

He screams. He screams and begs for mercy while Rhodes desperately tries to pull him back and away from the abyss. Tony clings to him with bruising strength, his eyes wild and unfocused, tremors shaking his lithe frame.

_Damn anyone that ever took anything from him_

“Tony, you’ve been here for hours, let’s go to bed.”

“Can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve got things to do, platypus. Go on ahead, I’ll meet you in the bedroom.” They both know Tony won’t.

Rhodes brings down pillows and blankets. He spends the night on the workshop’s couch. In the morning, he flicks through Tony’s to-do list:

-Rogers’ new stealth suit.

-Upgrade Widow Bites

-Re-calibrate explosive arrows

There are at least forty more Avengers-related tasks.

_Damn anyone that ever prayed to his name_

“Iron-Man, cover my six!”

“Iron-Man, Widow here. Extraction needed ASAP.”

“Hawkeye to Iron-Man, do you copy?”

“Man of Iron, can you-”

“Iron-Man, we need you to-”

“Tony, the company needs-”

_You know that he will give them everything_

_Until there is nothing left of him_

_But the imprint of dust where his feet once trod._

Tony stumbles into bed and collapses from exhaustion. He sleeps eighteen hours, wakes up to eat a half a sandwich, and sleeps for six hours more.

“Rhodey?” Tony wanders into the kitchen, he’s barefoot and wearing one of Rhodey’s t-shirts and sweatpants. “Why’re you here?” His speech is slurred and the Colonel catches him when his knees give out.

“You have a fever, love.”

“Come to bed, Rhodey. I…I can’t…”

“Let’s go.”

_You know that he will bear the world like Atlas_

_Until his shoulders collapse_

_And his knees buckle_

_And he is crushed by all he used to carry_

“Iron-Man is down. I repeat, Iron-Man is down.”

“Got it, Cap. ETA 14 minutes. Hawkeye out.”

“I’m coming in,” Rhodey says through the coms.

“No. War Machine, stand back. We need you to monitor the portal.”

“Damn the portal!” Rhodey’s voice is a roar. There is silence over the coms as War Machine touches down next to the red and gold suit.

“I will monitor the portal, Captain,” Thor’s voice is surprisingly soft.

_Dear God,_

_You have already made an Atlas._

“Tony is not weak; he’ll make it through this.” Surprisingly, it’s Clint who says those words to Rhodey as he waits for the doctors to bring news regarding the engineer.

The colonel does not answer and the archer leaves at some point after the third hour. Pepper comes in, takes off her high heels and sits silently next to him in the waiting room. Hours pass and Pepper brings them coffee and stale pastries that do nothing to sooth Rhodes’ nerves.

_You have already made an Achilles and an Icarus and a Hercules_

Tony looks small in the hospital bed, connected to beeping machines that proclaim the engineer’s strength to survive yet another brush with death. Rhodes sits on a chair next to the bed and waits for those brown eyes to open again. Waits for the quirk of dry lips and the fluttering of eyelashes, waits for Tony to find his way back from the nothingness of sleep.

_You have already made a sacrificial lamb of your Son_

Tony sleeps for two days and when he opens his eyes on the third, he murmurs, “I thought I wouldn’t make it back.”

Me too, Rhodes thinks.

_You have already made so many heroes,_

_And you can make another again_

Another attack by an alien force brings the Avengers back together. Tony fights in a dazzling blur of red and gold, he is beautiful, deadly, and so _alive_ it brings tears to Rhodes’ eyes. Tony is the epitome of freedom and, dare he say it, redemption.

_You can have your pick of heroes_

War Machine is all that stops the building from collapsing on a hundred terrified faces.

“Iron-Man, we need someone to close the portal.” Coulson’s voice makes its way through the coms.

“Got it,” Tony answers, and only Rhodes can hear the suppressed panic behind the curt response.

“Jay,” Rhodes says, and the AI patches him through to Tony’s armor in a private channel. “Tony.”

“I need to go in, James,” Tony says his name and Rhodes feels a heaviness settle on his chest. Tony only calls him James when what he really wants to say is ‘goodbye.’

“Tony, no, there has to be another way.”

“I love you.”

“Tony!”

_So please, I beg you-_

_He is all that I have_

“It’s been an honour, Mr. Stark,” Rogers says.

“Save me the speech, Cap.” Tony hovers a few meters away from the portal.

“Tony,” Rhodey whispers.

“I’ll see you on the other side, James.”

Tony steps through it and the portal shrinks and disappears.

_And you have so many heroes_

_And the world has so many more_

Rhodes howls his anguish into the darkness. He stays rooted to the spot where Tony stepped through the portal and not even the combined strength of Captain America, Nick Fury, and Clint Barton is enough to get him to move. Light breaks on the horizon and a flash of purple and blue brings his attention to a building opposite to where he is standing.

_Let him be soft,_

_And let him be mine_

“Tony?” He whispers, hoping against hope.

“James,” Tony answers. 


End file.
